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SOUTHEND
UNITED 0 CHELTENHAM TOWN 2 |
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ROBINS WREAK REVENGE ON SHRIMPS
Leeds against Derby kicked off on the big screen. Many people wandered into the pub to get out of the direct sunlight for a little while and see what was happening in the match. The Leeds side was unrecognisable from last season, ravaged by their well-publicised financial problems. This assortment of Football League journeymen and youth teamers struggled to make an impact on a Derby side who were just one point from safety last term. Would a poor season from them and a succesful one for us mean a trip to Elland Road in League One next year? Meanwhile, outside, the bare torsos got redder. By two o'clock the beer garden was rammed; a fair sprinkling of Cheltenham fans had made the journey down and were enjoying the fantastic weather alongside the Southend fans. The DJ was by now playing some decent tunes; does life get any better than standing in the sun with a cold beer listening to The Jam and looking forward to the first game of the season? Many bare torsos were now as red as the stripes on the Cheltenham fans shirts. So to the ground, where the excitement was beginning to build. Even the out-of-tune warblings of a fat and talentless tosser singing the songs of another famous fat and talentless tosser (sadly I'd not managed to avoid the Robbie Williams tribute) wasn't enough to dent our enthusiasm. Out on the pitch there they were, our heros who were taking the first steps on the road to League winning glory and the promised land of League One. Returning sons of yesteryear who'd brought us glory in the past, Spinner and Eagle, were now using their experience to lead and inspire the rest of the team to achieve great things. We sang their names and declared our love for the club and you could feel the anticipation building. Then we kicked off........ Those fans who'd raised doubts about our goalscoring abilities were right to have concerns; we didn't threaten the Cheltenham goalkeeper at all. Although to be fair to the front two of Dudfield and Gray this wasn't completely their fault, as the midfield provided absolutely no amunition for them and they had to try and make chances from the scraps of loose balls and the occasional defensive mistake. Sadly, they failed. As for the strong defence who would be keeping things tight at the back? Well, they proceeded to make the kind of mistakes that have been an all too regular part of our game for many seasons and we soon found ourselves two down. Firstly, Andy Edwards stood too far off his man and allowed him to turn him and fire past Griemenk to put us one-nil behind. He knew he'd messed up and put his head into his hands, not quite the glorious return to Roots Hall that was supposed to be in the script. Not long after that Nicky Nicolau was beaten by the Cheltenham Town winger, allowing him to get the cross over that led to the second goal. Spencer Prior firmly told him what all of us supporters were thinking - that the young left back should have got his foot in and kicked the ball (and the winger as well if neccesary) into the RBS family enclosure. It seems that whilst the product of the Arsenal youth setup has undoubted ability on the ball and looks dangerous going forward, his defensive skills may be a bit lacking. This was a perfect example where he seemed to be waiting to make the perfect tackle and emerge with the ball at his feet and play his way out of defence, Spinner however let him know that at this level it's often best just to clear the danger when you can. Hopefully he'll learn. So we went into half time losing two-nil and all of a sudden the confidence and excitement had evaporated, amazingly a few loud murmours of discontent were heard as the teams walked off. Half a game into a 46 game season and the moaning had started already. So to the second half, where surely a stirring half time team talk from Tilly and Brush would show through in a thrilling comeback? It wasn't to be however, maybe it was the heat or maybe we were just having an off day but the fight and desire that was being urged for by the 5,000 or so Southend fans didn't materialise. Bramble and Husbands came on as substitutes and Tes did briefly liven up the game with a few runs and generally making a nuisance of himself. In fact he was almost on his way to being the best Southend player on the day before he was sent off very late in the game. From where I was sitting it looked like a definite red card for a two footed lunge. Not everyone agreed, however, but the ref had made his decision and the little spate of 'handbags' after the challenge was almost the livliest part of the second half. Then it was all over. Out we trudged into the bright sunshine being reminded of our next home game in two weeks time and to hurry to buy our tickets for the West Ham game because our allocation was selling fast - sadly on todays showing there seems little chance of a cup upset at Upton Park. The post-mortem carried on back at the pub and the shirts came back off to reveal by now painfuly red, bare torsos. Tomorrow morning will bring not only the disappointment of opening day defeat but for some stinging sun-burn to go with the hangover. However the flowing beer, lovely weather and just the fact that football was back seemed to be numbing the pain into the evening. Many people were reminding themselves that this time last year we'd beaten the same opponents and were talking up our chances of promotion. Of course, a very disappointing season followed instead! Maybe this year things will work out very differently, we always live in hope...... VIEWS FROM THE FORUM
With the amount of expectation posted
here for the opener on Saturday, we all wanted more from our boys in blue...
however, the searing heat seemed to affect Cheltenham less, they nicked two
goals and then sat back and allowed our boys all the play knowing full well that
the conditions would make it difficult for us to make the breakthrough...
Cheltenham are not a great team yet we
made them look it, No one did there job out there, poor crossing, passing and
shooting meant we didn't ever look dangerous going forward. The Defence looked
weak at best and alot of our fears come true as the Chelts forwards used there
pace to get past the static duo of Prior and Edwards. I have every hope we will
see the 'real' Southend against Lincoln, another performance like that can not
be accepted. I disagree with MTS about the fans, most have paid £16.50 to watch
the game if you can call it that. Slight reversion to the Alan Little days
with the central midfield going anywhere but forward. Maher and Hunt are
too similar in style to play alongside one another in midfield. Without
the support of an attacking midfield the the two frontmen had no ammunition
therefore were largely impotent. The vocal support between the players
was better than we have seen for a long time and I feel that once the defence
"Gel's" it will become very miserly. Cheltenham came with the perfect away
match game plan and stuck to it like clockwork, getting numbers behind the ball
at all times and breaking with pace. We were extremely slow out of the
blocks and by the time we even looked like being awake it was too
late.Despite two massive errors, good to see defence wanting to build
from the back and use the ball instead of the usual hoof we have seen in the
past. All new signings look like very welcome additions in particular
Bart who for me was faultless throughout and his want to keep the pace of the
game distributing quickly was good to see! Did anyone else think the pass of the
day was from Bart when he picked Gower out with a crossfield pass from about 60
yards? In short masses of potential, just need to utilise it a bit more
effectively! |
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The bare torsos in the beer garden were white when
I arrived shortly after 11-30, the scorching weather having already caused the
Englishmen in the midday sun to whip off their new Southend shirts and roast.
Cold lager flowed easily as did opinion on how the
new season that lay ahead of us would unfold. Concerns were raised about our
lack of firepower up front in the friendlies but many people did believe that we
now had a stronger defence and were confident that many of the mistakes that led
to the soft goals we'd conceded last year would be eradicated. The bare torsos
in the beer garden began to get a little red.